


The Thrill of the Case

by Autopxy



Category: Death Note
Genre: Alternate Universe - Noir, Ambiguous Relationships, Detective Noir, Foreshadowing, Gen, M/M, Moral Ambiguity, One Shot, POV Second Person, Parallels, Realization, Subtext, Vignette, light may or may not be kira ooohhh keep ya guessing, like rly hardcore love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-06-28
Packaged: 2018-04-06 16:25:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4228764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autopxy/pseuds/Autopxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>L is a private investigator, who is looking for something that he can't quite put his finger on. He finds it in Light Yagami, a detective who recruits him for a case. </p><p>Death note Noir AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Thrill of the Case

He comes to you on a rainy Tuesday; in the evening like many of them do.

It's basically a given with the business you conduct- your patrons usually aim for complete confidentiality, and the darkness shrouds your dealings in secrecy, safe from prying eyes and open mouths. It isn’t a surprise when Merrie phones in (at around seven-thirty) to tell you that you have a visitor, and it isn’t a surprise when you see a shadow cast on the frosted glass of your office door soon after. It is a surprise however, when Quillish escorts him in, and he strides straight to you with purpose, peeling off his rain-slicker and plopping himself in front of your desk. He’s younger than they usually are, younger than you even, and he’s bold and bright, with sharp eyes and a lean build. _This one is different,_ you tell yourself, and you know that it’s the truth. There isn’t an ounce of apprehension in his body. 

“I’m Detective Light Yagami,” He tells you, leaning forward and folding his arms on your wooden desk “And I have a case for you, Investigator.”

“I only take cases that interest me, Detective Light Yagami,” you tell him bluntly. And you do, because the minor cases aren’t worth your time. You’re here for the thrill of the case, for the complex theories and high-speed chases, for the roaring of blood in your ears, and the danger in your veins. You’re here for the games of cat-and-mouse, the clever plots, the midnight rendezvous. You’re here so you can feel something more than the smoke in your lungs and the sugar in your bloodstream. "So am I going to find you interesting?"

 His grin widens.

“You might," he laughs easily, "But, see, it’s not really my case-it’s from the bureau. They wanted the expertise of the ‘Genius Private Investigator L’. I’m merely the envoy.”

The police department has invited you in before, only for the cases that they deem unsolvable. _A challenge_ , you think, and your pulse quickens. His amber eyes gleam and you know that he sees right through you. He has you right where he wants you, and he knows it.

“Have you heard of the Kira killings?” he continues on triumphantly.

You have. A string of seemingly-random murders, bodies all found in alleys, causing nationwide panic. No witnesses, no evidence, killer unknown. _Perfect._

“Call me L,” You hear yourself say.

“Call me Light,” he tells you as he shakes your hand. His palm is warm and somehow it feels like you’ve known him for your whole life.

 

* * *

 Light gives you a case file, and takes you to Headquarters to meet the rest of the team (six good men, hard workers). He takes you to the crime scenes, too and shows you photographs of the victims (all killed with a single blow to the head). He stands by the side while you look around, nodding cryptically and making deductions. The murders went off without a hitch; and the killer was quick and efficient, but you marvel at his sheer audacity, killing so many out in the open like this. One mistake and he goes to the chair, but he's calculated and meticulous and _wonderful_. You haven't felt this alive since the case in Santa Barbara.

Light also takes you out for dinner, when you’re done. "So, what do you think?" He asks you, after your waitress sets down your coffee. You pour a generous amount of cream, and then sugar into yours. He takes his black.

"I think, that this case is very interesting, indeed." You tell him, and you mean it.

You bounce ideas off each other, and _then_ you realize the extent of Light's intelligence; some of his theories rival yours, and some of them match you spot on. Then the talk turns to your personal lives, and you learn that Light attended Stanford, and lives in a nice apartment a few blocks away from the Station. You tell him about yourself, too, and not everything is a lie.

When the candle on the table burns low, and you get up to leave, you ring Quillish in the nearby phone booth, and he sends the car around. Light waits with you at the bus stop and smokes a cigarette, and when your car pulls up, you watch him through the window as he gets further and further away.

 

* * *

For a while, you send Nathan and Michael to check up on him, and you get Matthew to tap his phone lines, merely as a precaution of course. You look up on everyone you work with, and you've found that usually with a little digging, a few secrets come to light. But _he_ seems to be the most upstanding citizen there ever was, there isn't a single blemish on his flawless record, and he graduated top of his class. He eats healthy, exercises regularly, and enjoys reading the papers and listening to the radio. He has a wide array of friends, and is often invited to exclusive social events- where he doesn't ever have too much to drink, and always follows proper social decorum.  He even receives regular calls from one of the famous blonde movie starlets, who seems to be enamored. He's Mister Perfect, with a capital P. There isn't a single crack in his façade, and you're _fascinated_.

(Later, you think that he reminds you a bit of somebody, somebody that you cannot really place, but somebody important, all the same. You cannot remember who it is, and this troubles you, because you remember everything. You fall asleep with his face fresh in your mind, and you find him in your dreams, and he's so _beautiful_ , and bright that it makes your chest ache. But when the sun rises your thoughts are hazy and muddled, and he slips away into the depths of your unconscious mind, and you can hardly remember dreaming of him at all.)

 

* * *

There is a desk for you in his office for when you visit, put there by some considerate member of the team, and you make good use of it by visiting often, checking in for any developments in the case. The killer is still as meticulous as ever, and the two of you sit comfortably in silence while you work. You think that you may enjoy his company more than you've ever enjoyed anyone else's. He's positively charming, makes intelligent conversation, gives good insight, and plays a mean game of Chinese Checkers during breaks. Sometimes, when the two of you work late into the night, he invites you over to his place, and you get to see in person how nice his apartment really is.

You’re sitting right in that desk, when you make the connection. It hits you suddenly as you look through the victim profiles, and recognize the newest one from a previous fraud case. And then you run some checks and realize that they’ve all been somehow implicated in some crime or another, at some point in their lives. It’s a bit of a stretch, but some were previously suspects, some were merely benefactors of mysterious accidents. Anyone else would write it off as coincidence, crime rates are rising after all, but not you. You know nothing about this killer, but you _do_ know him, you’ve studied what scarce information the force has been able to collect on him, and he’s a part of you. You can’t explain it, but you know him in every cell of your being.

“He’s targeting the people he sees as criminals,” you say aloud. Its the biggest development you’ve made in the case, and everything seems to fit into place. “He probably has access to police records, or has followed the cases on his own. He sees himself as a _messiah_.”

Light turns and looks at you with wonder. And then his eyes shine, and he smiles so broadly with such genuine excitement that you think for a second that he might kiss you. You wonder how that would feel.

 

* * *

The both of you work hard, researching with a renewed fervor, and the killer seems to follow your train of thought, and picks up the speed of the killings. You get busier, and you’re always on the move, just a few steps behind him. The only drawback to the whole affair, is that Light is out of the office more and more often on fieldwork. You come in early one morning to find Matsuda, one of the members of the team, arranging papers in the office cabinet. He’s a nice chap, honest and cheerful, and he greets you as you step through the door. “Hullo! Light’s out to the crime scene, he told me to tell you that he’ll be in just in time for lunch.” You thank him and move to your desk, but he chatters on about Light, and the case, and do you think Light will bring in doughnuts later on? You’re about to inwardly give a sigh of relief when he finishes up and is about to leave, when he turns back to you, and tells you fondly, “ I’m glad you guys are friends. You know, it was me who was initially ordered to call you in for the case, being less crucial to the investigation and all, but Light wanted to switch with me. Said he thought that you were the greatest, and wanted to make a good impression, if you can believe it.” He chuckles. “Look at you guys now, two birds of a feather.”

(Something about that sticks with you, even after Matsuda shuts the door behind him. You don’t know why you keep thinking about it. You’ve never taken yourself for the sentimental type.)

 

* * *

All of a sudden, the killings stop. It’s normal for serial killers to go on a cooling-off period, but you fear that this time, it will be permanent. _You got too close,_ you think _and his instincts of self preservation kick in._ There’s nothing that anybody can do about it, but pack up the files, and wait for him to strike again. Its the closest to defeat that you’ve ever experienced, and that realization is jarring.

When months go by without any news, it’s officially over, and you pack up your things, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia. You’re going to miss this case-it’s one of the longest you’ve ever been on, and you’re strangely attached to your desk, and to your office, and to Light. He’s bought a one-way train ticket, they need him in Los Angeles for another case, and he’ll be moving there until he’s done. You think that you’ll miss him, too.

He comes to say goodbye on a rainy evening. You think that he may have done it on purpose; he was always one for the symbolism. This time, there’s no one to announce his arrival, they let him come in by himself, unescorted- he’s been here so often the past year that he’s practically expected all the time. He’s shaking water off his black umbrella when something that someone once said comes back to you, and suddenly, you _know_.

“It was you all along, wasn’t it.” you say.

(And it’s him, of course it’s him, how could it be anyone but him? He’s the killer- the same sense of justice that you hear in the rants that he makes on rare occasion is reflected so nicely in the killings, he has full access to police files and case records, the perfection, the daring, it’s all there. Nobody would ever suspect him, it’s so well-planned, and it’s so well done, and it’s so _him_. He's fooled the entire team into trusting him, and when they planned to bring you in, he fooled _you_ into trusting him. But that wasn't enough for him, oh _no_ , he wanted something more, and so he’s been playing you, and baiting you, and waiting to see if you’d get it, he let you into himself to see if you’d find out. No one has ever known him as you know him, and it’s been staring you straight in the face, he’s been leaving clues, its the greatest game that you’ve ever been wrapped up in, and you didn’t figure out that you were playing until the very end. _No, you_ _knew_ , you correct yourself, _a part of you has always known,_ but it lay dormant inside you, and you've never acknowledged its existence. But _now_ it's out in the open, and now you know for sure. He’s so very clever, and so very perfect, and you love him, so, so much.)

He doesn't miss a beat.

“Took you long enough,” He smirks. “Are you going to tell on me?” It’s a rhetorical question, of course, you aren’t going to, _you_ know you aren’t, _he_ knows you aren’t. He knows you as you know him, and he _loves_ you as you love him, and the lines between you blur sometimes, _L and Light, and Light and L_. You’ve found it, found him after a long, long search, where you didn’t even know what you were looking for, but he’s here, and he’s home, and he's been looking for you too, and no one else in the world is on your level.

He continues on, triumphantly. “I have an extra ticket, if you’re willing to take the case. We leave tonight.”

You take the piece of paper he holds out, and the brushing of your fingertips is a tender embrace.  _Yes_ , you think, you’ll follow him, follow him out into the dark, follow him to Los Angeles, follow him straight to hell, if that’s where he’s headed. He’s beautiful, and horrible, and he’s all you’ve ever wanted. You're a moth to his flame, and you don’t care if you start burning up.

  
(You take all the cases that interest you, after all.)

 

 

**FIN**

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my friends! 
> 
> I watched Double Indemnity a few days ago, so naturally here's a Noir AU, chock full of foreshadowing for a very obvious ending. I'm pretty sure everybody who's even heard of death note predicted the '''''plot twist''''' ( Wow whaddya know Light= Kira), but i wanted to like dump in a bunch of subtext that could be take two ways- why is Light always on L's mind? is is love? or something more nefarious? Or both??  
> There are also some Scandal in Belgravia elements if you look, and, again its a noir au, so this is how i feel the lawlight dynamic would translate in the noir universe. Also im rly into the idea of two people who are so completely perfect for each other, and are like the only ones that truly understand and match the other on like an intellectual level. (Im actually pretty proud of this shit its so self indulgent lol)  
> Also i wrote this thing on the last day of my holidays and i literally have school in two hours so im kinda racin' to get this up on time #my priorities are so on point!!!  
> ((also nobody cares but im going to update It'sARMW eventually like i haven't given up on it but im rly busy so maybe after GCSEs))
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


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